Dr. Arielle Tambini Talk

Arielle Tambini, PhD

University of California, Berkeley

Title: Reactivation during awake rest: an opportunity for memory consolidation

Date: Wednesday, November 28^th, 2018

Time: 10AM

Location: Herklotz Conference Center, Center for Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

Abstract:

After events are initially encoded into memory, post-encoding mechanisms are thought to play a critical role in stabilizing representations of past experience. The reactivation of memory representations during ‘offline’ brain states is a major candidate mechanism thought to support long-term memory stabilization. In this talk, I will present evidence that reactivation during awake rest periods after learning supports subsequent memory in humans. I will first discuss evidence for the occurrence of endogenous memory reactivation during awake rest and that the strength of reactivation predicts later memory. I will then demonstrate that causal manipulations of awake memory reactivation directly influence subsequent memory retention, using approaches to both enhance (targeted memory reactivation) and impair memory consolidation (combined TMS-fMRI). Together, these findings suggest that awake rest periods after learning may play an important and under-appreciated role in supporting long-term memory consolidation and retention.